The impact of natural disasters is felt globally, even in terms of mental health. A recent study found 78% of young adults’ mental health was affected by climate change, with 56% reporting feeling fearful, anxious, and powerlessness. Over 70% of respondents reported being pessimistic about the future, and 76% believed people have failed in taking care of our planet.

The term used to describe climate change anxiety is eco-anxiety. A study in 2021 reported that 45% of individuals felt that these anxieties negatively impacted their daily life, a number likely to increase.

Anouchka Grose, a writer, psychoanalyst, and author of A Guide to Eco-Anxiety: How to Protect the Planet and Your Mental Health and How to Manage Your Eco-Anxiety, comments: “I don’t think the next generations will be able to kid themselves that the problem is ‘over there’, either temporally or geographically. It will become less and less possible to carry on with business as usual and hope for the best. People won’t be able to simply trick themselves out of their cognitive dissonance but will need to inhabit the planet differently.”

Existing research has focused on participatory action as a method of coping with eco-anxiety. This form of coping involves striving to physically connect with one’s environment, through environmental education, advocacy, or even participating in ecotherapy. Ecotherapy encourages people to reflect on how the environment influences their current lifestyle during each session. The therapist attempts to reframe the clients’ perception of the irreparable state of our climate into more manageable perceptions.

However, some argue that participating in environmental activities by itself is ineffective. When discussing intervention methods that aim to treat eco-anxiety, Grose states that people vary on their needs, as not everyone desires or is able to be involved in activism, leading some people to protest while others grieve. Additionally, she mentions that people’s needs change over time, which is important to consider when evaluating how to treat eco-anxiety.

Panu Pihkala, a professor in environmental theology and an interdisciplinary scholar of emotions and environmental issues, emphasizes not to treat eco-anxiety as a pathology, but instead as an understandable reaction to the worsening climate. He advocates for somatic approaches, noting “emotions live in our mind and body, and various kinds of somatic methods can be integrated in our everyday routines.”

In a study, Pihkala suggests mindfulness-based approaches in tandem with participatory action can be effective. Mindfulness-based approaches integrate cognitive therapy with mindfulness practices. This includes being self-aware of the attention you are giving to negative thought patterns, in a nonjudgmental manner, detaching from them, and staying present to further enhance emotional regulation and subjective well-being.

Climate change and its effect on well-being is unlikely to fade. It is important to alleviate the stress and anxiety these effects will bring to mental health and to expand current approaches to better suit our needs. Advocating for international change in environmental politics is crucial for creating policies that address the declining state of our environment and the anxieties related to this issue.

— Nysa Syed, Contributing Writer

Featured Image: Tobias Rademacher on Unsplash; Creative Commons

Body Image #1: Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash; Creative Commons

Body Image #2: Photo by Engin Akyurt on Unsplash; Creative Commons